The Role of International Standards

• Author: Andrew Long
• Pages: 995-1000

CHAPTER 50

The Role of International Standards

ANDREW LONG

I. Introduction

This chapter highlights the role of certain international standards estab-

lished by and for private entities as they relate to international environmen-

tal law.1 The standards discussed by this chapter are market-oriented and

do not originate from intergovernmental agreements. The significance of

this type of standards, for environmental goals as in other areas, arises pri-

marily from the influential role that traditional international standardization

organizations, such as the International Organization for Standardization

(ISO), now play in international business and trade.2 This and other stan-

dard-setting entities have created environmental standards over the last two

decades for a variety of reasons, including consumer interest in the environ-

ment and the desire of governmental, corporate, and civil society interests

to shape the behavior or perception of behavior by transnational corpora-

tions. Quite distinct from the evolution of preexisting technical standard-

setting bodies, international standards have also proliferated because of

increasing interest in the development of non-state market-based approaches

to international environmental governance through eco-labeling. This brief

chapter provides an overview of the role these types of international stan-

dards play in international environmental law and corporate behavior

affecting the environment.

II. International Standardization and the Development

of Environmental Standards

A. A Brief Primer on Standardization

The ISO, the world’s largest and most significant developer of international

standards, defines a standard as “a document that provides requirements,

specifications, guidelines or characteristics that can be used consistently to

ensure that materials, products, processes and services are fit for their pur-

pose.”3 There has been a widespread proliferation of standards as international

995